Blackbaud Pays $35 Million For WhippleHill

Blackbaud has added another company to its string of acquisitions, purchasing the education software company WhippleHill Communications, Inc., for $35 million.

The New Hampshire-based WhippleHill, founded in 1998, provides cloud-based programs for K12 private schools. According to Blackbaud President and CEO Mike Gianoni, the organization will merge with Blackbaud’s existing K12 education solutions group, forming an expanded team dedicated to K12 private schools.

The combined Blackbaud and WhippleHill team will be led by Travis Warren, the former president and founder of WhippleHill. He will report to Kevin Mooney, president of Blackbaud’s General Market Business Unit. Warren’s new title is vice president and general manager of Blackbaud’s K12 Private Schools Group.

“We’re excited to join the Blackbaud organization,” said Warren. “In an industry where customers are frustrated by multi-vendor solutions with lackluster integration, K12 private schools will now have what they’ve been asking for — access to a comprehensive set of solutions that meet their needs and work well together, under the leadership and support of a single technology company that is highly invested in their success.”

According to a Blackbaud spokeswoman, all current WhippleHill employees will be fully integrated into Blackbaud starting today. “Today’s announcement is a reflection of our unwavering commitment to product and service innovation at the leading edge of the nonprofit sector,” said Gianoni.

Blackbaud has been working with the nonprofit sector on software issues for 30 years, serving 30,000 customers in over 60 countries. They have made a series of notable purchases in recent years, most notably rival nonprofit software company Convio in 2012 for $275 million.

A publicly-trade company on the NASDAQ, Blackbaud shares were up 26 cents in mid-morning trading to $35.71. The stock is up 4.5 percent for the past 12-month period.